A reflection for International Yoga Day on friendship, healing, connection, and the adventures we never see coming.
International Yoga Day got me reflecting on something I hadn’t fully appreciated before.
Not yoga itself, although I’ve certainly benefited from the stretching, breathing, occasional attempts at balance, and the reminder to be a little kinder to my body.
Instead, I found myself thinking about what yoga retreats have quietly brought into my life.
Because when I first booked one, I wasn’t looking for transformation.
I wasn’t seeking a spiritual awakening.
I wasn’t trying to reinvent myself.
I was simply trying to do something healthy, and perhaps prove to myself that travelling solo didn’t have to mean being lonely.
Looking back now, that first booking turned out to be one of the most consequential travel decisions I’ve ever made.
Not because of the yoga.
But because of everything that followed.
Sometimes We Think We’re Booking One Thing
One of the biggest fears I hear from women considering solo travel is loneliness.
It’s understandable.
If you live alone, why would you choose to travel alone too?
Why choose dinners by yourself, mornings with nobody to share a coffee with, or adventures that exist only inside your own head?
And yet some of the deepest friendships and most meaningful adventures in my life have come from doing exactly that.
Solo travel has a curious habit of introducing you to other solo travellers.
For me, many of those connections happened through yoga retreats for women.
What started as a single retreat became an entire ripple effect.
A conversation by a swimming pool in the Dominican Republic with a woman called Kathy led to a retreat in Cuba.
That retreat led to friendships.
One of those friendships eventually became a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.
Another became a music road trip through Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans.
Other friendships led to Iceland, Barbados, and experiences I couldn’t possibly have predicted when I booked that very first retreat.
Which taught me something.
Sometimes when you say yes to one small thing, you’re unknowingly saying yes to a hundred others.
Why Transformational Travel Retreats Work
When people hear the phrase transformational travel retreats, I think they often imagine some dramatic life-changing moment.
My experience has been much quieter than that.
Transformation rarely arrived with fanfare.
Instead, it happened through conversations.
Shared meals.
Unexpected friendships.
New perspectives.
The confidence that comes from stepping into unfamiliar places and discovering that you can cope just fine.
I think that’s why retreats can be so powerful.
Not because they promise change.
But because they create the conditions where change becomes possible.
When we step away from our normal routines, we often become more open.
More willing to connect.
More willing to try something new.
More willing to see ourselves differently.
And that’s where the real magic often begins.
Travel, Healing, and Possibility
For me, these retreats weren’t only about friendship.
They also arrived during periods of life when I needed something else.
Space.
Perspective.
Possibility.
There have been seasons when stepping away from normal life wasn’t simply enjoyable.
It was necessary.
A chance to breathe.
A chance to reset.
A reminder that there was still a bigger world waiting beyond whatever challenge I happened to be facing at the time.
And perhaps that’s why these experiences stay with us.
Because they aren’t really about yoga.
Or hiking.
Or travel.
They’re about who we become while we’re doing them.
The Ripple Effect of One Small Yes
I often think back to that first conversation with Kathy in the Dominican Republic.
If neither of us had booked that retreat, none of the adventures that followed would have happened.
No Cuba.
No Kilimanjaro.
No Nashville.
No Iceland.
No Barbados.
No friendships that crossed continents.
That’s quite extraordinary when you think about it.
We spend so much of our lives trying to know what a decision will lead to before we make it.
Trying to choose wisely.
Trying to make the perfect decision.
But some of the best things in life arrive precisely because we couldn’t see where they would lead.
Perhaps that’s why this reflection feels so fitting for International Yoga Day.
Because sometimes we think we’re booking a yoga retreat.
When really, we’re opening a door.
And we have absolutely no idea what might be waiting on the other side.
So, has there ever been one small yes in your life that quietly changed far more than you expected? Leave a Comment below to let me know.
This Week on YouTube
The solo travel fears series continues this week with a very honest one:
Because sometimes the fear isn’t danger, loneliness, or getting lost. Sometimes it’s simply the worry that you’ll spend all that time, money, and emotional energy… only to wish you hadn’t gone.
It’s a fear many of us have before trying something new, whether that’s a solo trip, a retreat, or anything that pushes us outside our comfort zone. See my thoughts on the subject HERE.
And if you’d like everything in one place, my latest long-form video brings together all of the biggest fears women tell me they have before taking their first solo trip. From safety and loneliness to judgement, getting lost, and eating alone, it’s a complete guide to the fears that often keep us stuck before we’ve even packed a bag. Click THIS LINK to watch it.
If either feels relevant, they’re waiting for you over on YouTube.
Throwback Travel Corner
In honour of International Yoga Day, this week’s throwback feels like the obvious choice.
A blog post from the archives about how yoga retreats unexpectedly became one of my favourite ways to meet people when travelling—and how one simple conversation led to adventures I could never have planned.
How to Meet People When Travelling – An Ode to Yoga Retreats
Thank you for being here — whether you read every word or just dip in now and then.
Until next time,
Safe travels,
Sue x
This email may contain affiliate links. If you choose to use them, I may receive a small commission — thank you. You’ll never pay more, and my opinions are always my own.
PS Helpful travel resources I genuinely use can always be found HERE.
🏠 For accommodation, I use Expedia and Booking.com primarily. They have their own loyalty schemes which is easy to progress through the levels for better discounts and inclusions.
🚍 For tours and activities, my preferred supplier is Get Your Guide.
🗺️ For multi day or week tours, check out G Adventures. I used them for trips in Costa Rica, Peru, and Galapagos.
🧳 For luggage storage on your travels, I recommend the service by Bounce.
